On November 8, Old Dominion Hounds hosted the 13th Junior North American Field Hunter Championships, bringing together young foxhunters from across the country. We have results from all three divisions.

At 13, Brady Cully has more experience riding to hounds than most foxhunters his age. His family breeds and raises hounds for the Rose Tree-Blue Mountain Hunt, for which his dad Sean is the master. Brady began hunting around six-years-old, and he hasn’t missed a single weekend of hunting nor a day of school ever since.

The kennels are at the Cullys’ farm, so the entire family, Brady, Sean, his mom Maryann, and his 10-year-old sister help out on the farm taking care of the hounds and the horses. They are a close family, bonded by their love of the animals and the many years of labor they have put into building their foxhunting club from the ground up.

Seventeen-year-old Morgan Gracey and her mom, Christine, can often be found hunting together on two Appaloosas, who also happen to be related. Marty, the dam, was one of Morgan’s first regular hunting mounts when she was a pre-teen. Marty’s offspring, Pride, doubles as Morgan’s hunting and eventing horse.

“Hunting with mom is nice because we can both ride together. We pull up to the hunts and get out of the truck and everyone says ‘Good morning, Graceys!” Morgan said. “With eventing, mom is more grooming for me and helping me out. She did her first event this year and I was her groom!”

The 2015 edition of the Junior North American Field Hunter Championships (JNAFHC) has experienced tremendous and exciting growth with the addition of four new qualifying meets for the November 8 finals, hosted by Old Dominion Hounds in Hume, VA.

Newly added qualifying meets will be hosted by Belle Meade Hunt (GA), Long Run Hounds (KY), Woodford Hounds (KY), and Iroquois Hunt (KY). Returning hunts include the Virginia packs of Orange County Hounds, Deep Run Hunt, Loudoun Fairfax Hunt, Piedmont Fox Hounds, and Bull Run Hunt, as well as Maryland’s New Market-Middletown Valley Hounds, Elkridge-Harford Hunt, and Potomac Hunt, and Cheshire Hunt, Radnor Hunt, and Andrews Bridge Foxhounds will host meets in Pennsylvania.

Junior hunters often find their way to the field through family members or friends who hunt, but 12-year-old Henry Nylen paved his own way. He is a staple with the New-Market Middletown Valley Hounds in Maryland, and with two years of hunting behind him, young Henry looks to a future career with hounds.

“I love everything about the sport,” Henry said. “I like the speed and I like observing the hounds. I like seeing what the hounds are doing, which hound is speaking the loudest and what kind of voice the hound has.”

Henry started taking riding lessons at age 4 and had progressed to cantering and jumping when his instructor suggested he might enjoy hunting. His parents got information about the local hunt and after a season of cubbing Henry decided this was the sport for him.

Brooklyn Currier and her 15-year-old Appendix Quarter Horse mare Callie have done everything together. They have ridden in gymkhanas, horse trials, 4-H shows, and the mare is even teaching Brooklyn’s mom to ride. Five years ago they added another feather to their cap by joining the hunt.

Brooklyn’s trainer had started foxhunting and took Callie out to see how she would do. “My trainer rode her that one time and said ‘Okay, this horse is perfect. You have to go foxhunting,’” Brooklyn said. “I tagged along one time and never stopped.”

Now 17, Brooklyn and Callie are regulars with Vermont’s Green Mountain Hounds, where she has made many new friends and made her mark on the field. She was awarded Fairly Hunted in 2014.

“Callie loves going out. She loves watching the hounds work and loves the whole get up and go excitement,” Brooklyn said. “I like the open fields. I like jumping...who doesn’t like jumping? The best part about watching the hounds work is when they all scatter and work together to find the scent. The thing that keeps me foxhunting is the friendly atmosphere that our group gives and the thrill of the chase!"

Brooklyn rides in a ring at home, so going foxhunting is like taking a vacation. “In the fall it’s beautiful because sometimes we go through woods and you see the beautiful scenery and the leaves turning. It’s gorgeous.”

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